My new phone arrived today: a blue HTC 8X, running Windows Phone 8. As a huge Windows Phone fan put off by several persistent issues in Windows Phone 7.x, I'm basically giving this platform another shot, and in this day and age such a second chance doesn't come cheap: the 8X is 539 EUR, after all. Here's a few quick first impressions after less than a day of use.

Thom, a superficial question :-) In most pictures of Windows Phones is see that all tiles have the same colour. They're all red, or all yellow, for instance.

On Windows 8 (whichever version) the tiles have all different colours. Which is much more functional, I'd say. "OK, my email is that red square, and my internet is that blue one" seems easier than "Let's see, which one of all these yellow squares was my email again? "

So, is it possible to give each tile a different colour?

Is it also true that you cannot turn those animations ('transitions') off? I played with a WinPhone sometime ago and it irritated me very quickly (read: after 2 minutes) .....

The Windows Phone 8 application for Windows 7/8 (the non-Metro) is pretty much like that as well. I only hope that we don't see Microsoft tempted to pollute an otherwise straight forward application into a bloatmoster like iTunes has become.

The HD7 took like 10-20 seconds, but the 8X is about a few seconds. Way better, but I'm used to no delay at all :/.

The Mac sync application is very basic, but I like it. It syncs shit. The end. Perfect.

I hope they regularly update it when compared to the last time I used it which resulted in an update for Windows Phone 7 leaving me unable to sync with my Mac thus pretty much resulting in my giving up and going to purchase an iPhone (it took over 5 months for the fix to be delivered by the Mac Business Unit).

Regarding the future updates, from what I understand you'll be able to bypass the using 'carrier fucking the user over' situation as it exists now in favour f getting updates directly from Microsoft instead. IMHO that is one of the biggest things that are pushing me from Windows Phone 7.5 (Lumia 900) to Windows Phone 8 thus avoiding a long standing issue that impacts Windows Phone and Android users. Hopefully with easier upgrades it'll be quicker upgrades being released with more users adopting them in a shorter space thus spur on developers to take advantage of new features as they arrive. IIRC notifications are apparently coming to Windows Phone 8 but they weren't ready for the RTM - maybe in 6months at the latest?

Regarding the future updates, from what I understand you'll be able to bypass the using 'carrier fucking the user over' situation as it exists now in favour f getting updates directly from Microsoft instead.

That is because HTC apparently does not to sell the LTE variant in Europe. At least for LTE phones in the US, this is going to be different.

By this point, MS should've had WinRT ported to phones, so you could run the same applications on phone, tablet, and desktop (and probably Xbox too). Why they haven't done this is beyond me.

Speaking of WP8 though, do they have a decent Google Voice client available?

You do realise that you write WinRT applications on Windows Phone 8? that is what all the excitement is about, being able to write native applications on Windows Phone 8 rather than being forced to use the Silverlight environment along with its limitations.

You do realise that you write WinRT applications on Windows Phone 8? that is what all the excitement is about, being able to write native applications on Windows Phone 8 rather than being forced to use the Silverlight environment along with its limitations.

Really? So what's the difference between it and Windows RT on tablets/desktops? I'd figure by this point, you'd be able to write an app that ran on all 3, taking into account differences in resolution and screen real-estate, of course.

Really? So what's the difference between it and Windows RT on tablets/desktops? I'd figure by this point, you'd be able to write an app that ran on all 3, taking into account differences in resolution and screen real-estate, of course.

Windows RT runs on ARM tablets, WinRT is the Windows Run Time, and Windows Phone 8 is for phones. WinRT is present on Windows RT, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. The difference between Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT is Windows RT includes a desktop but you cannot run or install win32 applications where as with Windows Phone 8 there is included a stripped down version of Microsoft Office designed for the phone but doesn't have win32 or desktop functionality. As for why Microsoft has included win32 and desktop functionality - because it appears that Microsoft want to provide a full Office 2013 experience to end users rather than a castrated stripped down phone version.

(1) turn by turn, voice directions in maps/navigation? that's the big thing i missed from wp7.x
(2) voice control for text messaging? greatest feature in wp7 IMO is the ability to receive and respond to text messages hands and eyes free.

My biggest gripe is the lack of connectivity while asleep. It means it's harder to get updates to emails/etc. without manually checking things. Or when you turn it on and go to weather or rowiapp or whatever, you have to wait for the app to "connect" on the network and get the data.

I have an HTC Trophy that I switch back to from time to time - I want to like the environment, but I keep returning to Android for daily use.

Nothing like a bit of desperation to inspire some innovation eh? Still, it's good to see that HTC and Nokia realise that they're going to have to get creative if they have a hope in hell against the Samsung juggernaut.

I'm probably going to buy a Win8 phone, but I think I'll go for the Nokia rather than the HTC. While I don't miss many things about my Nokias of old, build quality is the one thing I do miss.

What about the cell data connection (3G, LTE, ect)? Does it disconnect when it sleeps as well? That would be kind of a deal breaker for most people I know.

If the data connection is stil active, then why does it matter that it takes a while to reconnect to wifi? Is the switch over noticeable? Do you have an extensive LAN that you interact with on your phone often after waking it up? I don't quite understand the issue you're having.

The problem is that once a data transfer has been initiated (For example, let's say you're streaming Pandora), it can't be reassigned to another transport medium.

If I start streaming on 3G, it will remain on 3G the entire time, despite me having WiFi. That's the really nefarious part of the shortcoming, it can lead to unintended data usage.

On Windows Phone, background tasks may periodically execute, which may among other things request network resources (For a streaming agent, or a background transfer agent). This has the effect of gobbling up data usage.

So if Pandora is started on wifi and the phone goes to sleep, Pandora would stop, right?

Periodic background data usage while the phone is asleep should be fairly minimal, I can't imagine that would be a problem data wise ( speaking as someone with a 300 meg data plan who typically only uses ~70 megs of it).

Maybe I am understanding it wrong, but I thought the entire "live tile" interface of Windows Phone 8 IS a notification center in an of itself. With the tiles constantly updating, flipping, showing pictures, as you say, Facebook update counts, all that sort of thing, I thought there was no need at all for a notification center.

I've looked at WP 8, and while very pretty and totally different from Android and iOS, I just don't care for it, and it's a purely personal preference. Not being able to group your apps into any sort of organizational structure of folders like iOS is a deal-killer for me. I have a folder on the back page of my phone where I put all the apps I never use that come on the phone, out of sight/out of mind. That sort of thing. I really disliked having only a LOOOOONG list of apps to scroll through in order to find something.

The power, volume, and camera buttons also feel a bit flimsy, like they're about to fall off. This is kind of strange for an otherwise solid piece of hardware, and on top of that, you'd think HTC had figured out by now how to make a decent button.

Hm, since HTC was always about ~touchscreens - figuring out how to do proper buttons might be not their first priority ;p

I was drooling over HTC 8X & WP8. Microsoft really took the WP8 OS to a very good level and HTC did an fantastic job on the device design, feel & sturdiness.

While I seriously considered purchasing one, I actually opted for the HTC Titan 2 running WP7.5.

One prime reason was pricing. A new HTC WP8X device would've cost me $200 USD (w/agreement). Upgrading my current device to a new HTC Titan 2 only cost $20 because the new WP8 devices are out.

With my daughter in college, everything comes down to cost.

The other prime reason was the HTC Brand, itself. Over the last several year, all of my phone devices have been HTC with the sole exception of my Samsung Focus running WP7.X. I loved the OS but felt the Samsung device itself had far less quality in its construction & materials.

The prior HTC devices I've used are 8125, 8525, 8925, Tilt2, Fuze & HD2 (T-Mobile & unlocked for AT&T). I've found the form-factor & overall feel, reliability and sturdiness of the HTC devices I've used are nothing short of fantastic.

And I had the same impression of the HTC WP8X.

As I said, it all came down to the pricing why I got the Titan 2 instead.

You have to see what other designs Thom also likes to understand where he is coming from. He is a big fan of ultra minimalist designs and is kind of bored with the basic iPhone design too.

For example his post on the Sony Monolith TV.

That is fine. Though many of the WP8 phones just look like a squared off Android phone with lurid colours, to me. Nothing interesting either. I am played out with the whole functional minimalist school now.

But I agree with the general thrust of dull design, I just include Nokia in that group as well.